LHIN presenting final draft, Wednesday
Tuesday June 24 2008
By Nelia Raposo, Staff Writer
The final draft report outlining goals for a local, integrated health services action plan will be presented to the Central West Local Health Integrated Network board this Wednesday (June 25).
“We’ve been working for six months to develop a health systems plan to determine what should be where when it comes to services,” Joe McReynolds, board chair of Central West LHIN, said.
Funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, the LHIN’s goal is to plan, integrate and fund local health services. It serves Caledon, Dufferin County, Brampton, Malton, Woodbridge and north Etobicoke.
“Our goal is to ensure local core services are accessible and delivered closer to home by making the first point of contact in the health system community based, rather than hospital based,” he said.
A public meeting in Orangeville last Monday (June 16) on the report attracted about 30 people, all from the health services field. It was held at the Best Western on Buena Vista Drive.
“For the local person, we are trying to bring (health care) services to every part of the LHIN, making them more accessible with more emphasis on health rather than health care in an attempt to reduce pressures on emergency rooms,” McReynolds said.
A long-term goal of the report calls for Brampton’s new hospital to be the area’s specialty hospital with acute care services.
The integrated service plan began three years ago. This report is now looking at it from a systems perspective looking 15 years down the road, he said.
Orangeville’s Dr. David Scott attended the meeting. Although he’s still digesting the lengthy report, he says one of the major challenges is the geographic size and diversity of the area covered.
“Dufferin County is a really small sector in terms of the whole Central West LHIN. It’s a giant vacuum in terms of money given to carry out its mandate,” Scott said.
Challenges
He also notes that cardiac services are handled at a Newmarket hospital and there is a need for local mental health services.
“These are challenges that need to be addressed over the coming years. It will take many years,” Scott said. “It’s one thing to write a report, it’s another thing to implement it.”
The Health System Plan final draft report outlining the strategic goals for a community-based health system is available at www.centralwestlhin.on.ca.
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